Idaho food and beverage

November 2008

November 25, 2008

Randy Stapilus noted a comment that was recently left on a thread at Huckleberries Online, a thread that begin as a discussion of recent events in Madison County and eventually became an all too realistic commentary on southeastern Idaho. I believe the reader's comment deserves repeating:

"I’ve seen it before, and although it saddens me, I am not surprised. There are some VERY narrow-minded people in that part of the state.

The big difference - in North Idaho people with that kind of view are more likely to be “white trash” or “anti-government hillbillies.” People who dress in camo, have jacked up pickups, etc etc. I mean no offense, just trying to form a picture.

But in SE Idaho, that point of view is attached to bankers, church leaders, and others in the “professional” class. The squeaky clean people. And that is far scarier."

This particular comment stopped me dead in my tracks as it is something some of us in the blogosphere have been saying all along.

The kind of hatred, racism and bigotry in southeastern Idaho is not simply a problem because it exists, it is a problem because the people who represent it are otherwise upstanding members of the community who are listened to and revered. Instead of reporting simply on the investigated and most egregious events throughout the state as the editorial board of the Idaho Statesmansuggests, we should not be standing idly by, we should be yelling from every rooftop that hate exists here and we must do something about it.

Hate in this state has long been associated with groups that no longer exist here or no longer have much of a presence; this doesn't mean hate no longer lives here.

10:00-12:30 pm Building an Inclusive Democratic Movement12:30-1:30 pm Lunch and Post-Election Analysis: The Big Picture1:30-3:00 pm Setting the Movement in Motion3:00-400 pm Prioritizing Our WorkOur country has extraordinary opportunities with the dawn of a new president and congress at the national level. We as people of faith and good will must take the leadership role to build the beloved communities of which we dream. Please join us on the 22nd, bring young people with you…

Marcy Westerling, our workshop facilitator and keynote speaker is the Executive Director of the Rural Organizing Project, a statewide organization of more than 60 local, autonomous human dignity groups working successfully to advance democracy in rural and small town Oregon. http://rop.org~ http://www.socialpolicy.org/index.php?id=1907Fabulous Speaker, Camaraderie, Food! Meal by Mazzah

Democrats can certainly rejoice in Barack Obama's win and be proud of Walt Minnick picking up the 1st Congressional District seat, but beyond that, there is little to celebrate. In fact, we lost a seat in the legislature, a sitting commissioner in Ada County and another commissioner in Bonner County. So, no matter how you spin it, we have to get back to work if we are ever really going to turn Idaho any shade other than deep red. Some of the numbers do not really make sense. Ada County is one of the best examples. How does Barack Obama get more votes than either Paul Woods or David Langhorst? How does Walt Minnick win in West Ada County when neither Obama, Woods, or Langhorst carry the county when they have the North End and the Bench, an advantage that Walt didn't have? The answer is that Walt's win probably has more to do with what is happening in the Republican Party than it does with the Democrats. Make no mistake, Walt's win was fantastic and he deserves the credit, but it seems clear that the Republicans were fed up with Sali's antics and decided that if they were ever going to get rid of him, 2008 was the time to do it. If Sali had won, he would have been the virtual leader of the Idaho Republican Party, given the leadership fight they had at their last state convention. Voting him out gives the party back to Governor Otter and crew and also clears the way for their up-and-coming talent in future Congessional races. The one thing that means is that the Republicans will be doing everything they can to win the seat back in 2010. We Dems will have to work very hard to keep the seat. And in a straight up vote between a reasonable Republican and Walt, it will be as hard a fought race as we have ever had in Idaho. So get ready. But between now and then, it is time to do what we always say we are going to do but never quite get it done, and that is recruit candidates for city elections and school boards. Many of these elections take place in 2009. If we are ever going to make real headway in Idaho, we need to start by fielding candidates in these local elections. Doing so provides us with people who learn how to campaign as well as govern. More importantly, these elections are non-partison, so our candidates are not hampered by having a D behind their name on the ballot. That makes it much more about name identification and GOTV, things we can control. So, if you are thinking about running for office anytime soon, please think about running for city council or school board in your local community. It is a great way to learn the ropes and, more importantly, get set up for a county or legislative race in the future.

November 20, 2008

Bruce Reed, former domesticc policy advisor to President Clinton and current president of the Democratic Leadership Council, has a great article up over at Slate regarding, of all things, the changing leadership in Idaho's 1st CD. To quote Mr. Reed, the 1st CD "has lost its claim as the nuttiest House seat in the country" with the recent election of Walt Minnick.

Historically, Idaho has sent a wide array of personalities to the United States House of Representatives from the 1st CD. For every "nutty" legislator like Bill Sali or Helen Chenoweth, there have been strong, effective leaders like Larry LaRocco, Gracie Pfost and Comp White. Where Idaho voters have been faulted in the past for their erroneous election of convicted-felon George Hansen, they are certainly being credited now for their vote to send a real representative to Washington, D.C.

Like what has been written previously on the demeanor and personality of Sali, Reed contends that it was in fact Sali's abrasive personality that lost him his seat in Congress. Unlike Chenoweth, Sali didn't particularly stand out in Congress (something those of us in Idaho who watched Sali would contend with) and back home his personality lost him votes his party traditionally could win:

But for a state wholly unaccustomed to good election-year news, Idaho's real breakthrough was the defeat of first-term congressman Bill Sali, who through sheer force of unpleasant personality persuaded a staunchly conservative district to swear off extremism. With a disastrous campaign, Sali finally lived up to his billing as the Republican whom Idaho Republicans most love to hate.

Bruce Reed makes sure to mention the bunny ears incident with John Foster, Minnick's campaign spokesman, as well as Congressman Simpson's, then Idaho Speaker of the House, threat of throwing Sali out a capitol window. On the matter of the bunny ears:

It is unfortunate that the national press is lumping Sali's defeat and disaster of a congressional term with the career of Larry Craig. For the joke that Larry Craig has become, continuing to refer to convicted felon Senator Stevens as "Uncle Ted" on the floor of the Senate still thismorning, his otherwise traditional conservative career in Congress used to be a highlight of Republican politics in this state. However, the national press will continue to look at the antics of Sali and the unfortunate events in a Minnesota airport bathroom stall in the same light. Perhaps it is as unfortunate for Bill Sali that he is considered in the category of the now infamous reputation of Larry Craig as it is the past life and semi-esteemed carrer of Craig to be lumped in with the short congressional career of Sali.

If you have not read Bruce Reed's column because of his association with the DLC or any other reason you've previously refrained from reading his stuff, please do so for the ending alone: "Etymologists say the word patoot derives from potato.Over the years, Idaho has produced plenty of both. But without Larry Craig and Bill Sali to kick around, Famous Patoots will no longer be the state motto."

November 18, 2008

Is Lieberman to progressive Democrats what Bush's immigration policy is to hard-line conservatives? It certainly feels like Senator Lieberman is a thorn in our side.

After a 42-13 vote (including the newly elected Senate Democrats), the Democratic Caucus has voted to not only keep Joe Lieberman in the caucus, but to allow him to retain his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

This decision is irresponsible. Last night as Arianna Huffington sat in for Rachel Maddow, she asked a guest whether Lieberman's track record as chairman would play a significant role in the Democrats decision today. The guest's answer? Absolutely not.

For more on the decision to let Joe Lieberman live to see another day as a member of the Democratic Caucus, please visit any of the following sites:

Based on this I decided to drill down to the county level in Idaho and see what happened there. The results are fascinating. The margin gains in Idaho favored Obama in 43 of 44 counties. Only Lemhi County (R +3) went the other direction.

The best margin gain was in Teton County, which posted a D +23 and flipped blue for perhaps the first time ever. Elmore County was right behind at D +20. Although still not terribly competitive, the margins are no longer ridiculous there.

Other notable Democratic margin gains were Lincoln County (D +18), Ada County (D +17), Power County (D +17), Camas County (D +15) and Canyon County (D +15). In Blaine County, the only county Kerry won in 2004, Obama still managed a D +14, indicating the folks along Highway 75 are moving blue as strongly as ever.

In addition to Teton County, Latah County flipped blue as well. Latah was the only Bush county in 2004 where the margin of victory was under 10 points. In 2008 there were three McCain counties decided by less than 10 points: Shoshone (8 points), Valley (7 points), and Ada (6 points).

There's still a lot of work to do. For example, while Madison County was a D +12, it was still a 73-point McCain win. Several other counties, mainly in eastern Idaho, are still posting insane red blowout numbers, just not as bad as four years ago. Even so, these figures indicate improved Democratic strength is a statewide phenomenon.

November 06, 2008

Bubblehead, Idaho blogger, Bill Sali detractor, and genuinely great guy, has discovered a case of stomach cancer in his own stomach. I'm not religious and therefore not disposed to prayer, but will keep him in my thoughts as he learns via surgery over the next couple of weeks what kind of treatment he'll need to to beat the hell out of this thing.

November 05, 2008

As Democrats across the country celebrate the historic election of Barack Obama, Idaho Democrats have plenty of reason to celebrate as well. Walt Minnick has safely secured a win in Idaho's 1st Congressional District!

Bubblehead called it last night, long before the AP called it, and this morning Walt Minnick gave his victory speech in front of the Idaho Historical Museum in Boise.

For the first time since Larry LaRocco lost the seat in 1994, the state of Idaho will be sending a Democrat to Washington, D.C. What a wonderful day for Walt and a wonderful day for Idaho.

Here is a small sampling of what the Idaho progressive blogosphere has to say on this new day in Idaho and across the country: